


A Family Bath

by ladyroxanne21



Series: Growing Up Potter [8]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: And has an epic water fight, Harry wants a bit of quiet, M/M, The whole family takes a bath, To read his letter from Dudley, so of course
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-23 18:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7475196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyroxanne21/pseuds/ladyroxanne21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry wants to take a nice relaxing bath to read the letter from his cousin, so of course, everyone joins in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Family Bath

**Author's Note:**

> This is the scene I talked about before that I had in my head back when I wasn't planning to continue on with Amoris Room. I had actually forgotten about it until after I finished the last part and was at a loss for what to do next, and then I reread all the comments and suggestion - because they help A LOT! - and I came across my *own* description of this scene, sorta, lol!

Even though Harry had been half expecting it, he was still surprised. The only reason he even had a muggle post box was that they had installed muggle utilities at some point so Harry could watch TV from time to time and make sure that the kids were warm or cool as needed. Also, he had a muggle bank account and they ordered things online every once in a while and needed a place for the orders to be delivered.

Anyway, despite telling Dudley to write him, he had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that Dudley had changed enough to  _actually_ write him. Harry held the letter in one hand just staring at it for a long time. Then the woman who rented the box next to Harry's cleared her throat impatiently.

“Do you mind?!”

Harry hastily shut his box, locked it, and stepped to the side. “Sorry.”

Harry stepped out of the post office holding his letter – among other pieces of mail – only to find that it was raining. He quickly cast an impervious charm on the letter so that it couldn't get wet. Then, he slipped into an empty alley and Disapparated back home.

It was a Saturday, so no one had to work – even Padma and Pansy had the day off from their intense residency at St. Mungo's. Breakfast had only been an hour ago, and Harry had gone out simply because the kids had been so loud that he was getting a headache and wanted time for the anti-headache potion to kick in. He hadn't expected to get a letter so soon.

A look around the house showed him that everyone was out in the backyard. The kids were running around playing, and their moms were drinking tea and chatting – which sounded like a debate on a law Hermione was working on changing. Draco was nowhere to be seen, but Harry was certain that he was probably still in bed – having been up late last night because their boys simply refused to go to sleep until after midnight.

_Hmm... I might be able to have a quiet bath..._ Harry thought. The idea held a large amount of appeal. Even though it should be considered a sin to fill up the enormous tub for just one bather, relaxing in a bath while reading his letter sounded like heaven at the moment. Harry wasted no time in filling the bath and stripping off. He recast the impervious charm just to be sure his letter would be fine in the tub with him.

“Ahh...” Harry sighed in contentment as he sat in corner of the tub. “Bliss!”

He picked up his letter and looked over at the door as it popped open a moment later. “Hi Harry,” Parvati greeted him. “I just need to brush my hair.”

Harry smiled at her, knowing that she could spend hours brushing her long, thick, gorgeous hair. However, since she would be quiet aside from a lovely soft humming, he didn't mind. He focused on his letter.

_Harry, I'm a bit shite with writing, so I'm asking Donna to do it for me._

“I wondered where you'd gone to,” Luna murmured softly when she found Parvati. “I'm here to brush my hair too, and I've charmed all my butterfly hair clips to flutter beautifully.”

“I always thought that you managed to confound real butterflies to sit in your hair,” Parvati informed her.

“That would be cruel,” Luna stated with a shrug. “Hi Harry, I didn't realize you had returned from your walk.”

“Morning Luna,” Harry mumbled absently.

_I_ _**still** _ _ can't believe that Dudley is related to *the Harry Potter* and he had  _ no idea  _ that his cousin was the most important person in the world! We didn't really talk about you much because he knew that he wasn't supposed to talk about magic with other muggles, and I couldn't tell him about being a squib because he's a muggle and I didn't know that he knew about magic. So ironic how that happened, huh? _

“Oh good! The bath's ready!” Hermione stated in relief. “Your twins and my twins decided to mix up buckets of dirt with water and then sling mud at each other like it was snowballs. I decided that it would just be easiest to give them a bath so that I don't miss anything with cleaning spells.” She explained as she floated the four toddlers in question into the tub. Although, she did have the courtesy to put them on the opposite side from Harry.

“It's fine,” Harry murmured, long used to have kids in the bath with him.

_But then Daisy levitated her favorite toy and we both knew that she had magic. Dudley was white as a ghost as he told me that his mom's sister was a muggleborn and that he had a wizard as a cousin._

“Move over! I have a hot date tonight!” Pansy announced as she tried to squeeze between Parvati and Luna in order to use the mirror.

“Stop it, Pans! There's at least 12 feet of mirror so you don't need to use the same two feet we are!” Parvati yelled.

“That's bollocks and you know it!” Pansy insisted. “This is clearly the best two feet otherwise you wouldn't insist on always having this spot!”

“There does seem to be a Boggart trapped in the mirror over there,” Luna added, pointing to the corner of the mirror with the worst lighting.

“Is that even possible?” Both Hermione and Padma asked as Padma entered the room. Padma inspected the part in question while Hermione finished stripping off to get in the bath with her children.

_ Then I told Dudley that I'm a squib. The rest of my family is powerful, and I grew up feeling useless, lonely, and jealous. I moved to England from America just to get away from them! I picked Little Whinging because it was in the middle of nowhere and there were no signs of the magical community nearby, so  _ of course _ I manage to fall in love with the  _ one _ person in all of LW that has a connection to magic! _

“Oh that's ghastly!” Padma gasped in horror. “I am not sure that it's a Boggart, but this part of the mirror has changed my reflection into that of a nasty old hag!”

“Oh yeah,” Hannah agreed as she entered the bathroom and stripped off her clothes. “That part is cursed or something. It always changes one's reflection into a hag.”

“You didn't know that?” Susan asked, also stripping off. “And that part over there shows you an image of yourself that looks so appealing that you'll stand there all day staring at it if no one pushes you away.”

“I figured that out ages ago,” Ginny informed them with a yawn. “I'm pretty sure I spent a good six hours staring at myself one day before Ron caught me and teasingly pushed me onto my butt. It wasn't until I wondered what had happened to the day that I realized how long I'd been standing there.”

“That spot in the mirror?” Draco asked as he entered the room, pointing at the spot in question. Ginny nodded, smiling at him. “Did you know about the little spot that flashes blue when the light hits it just right, and then grants a little wish?”

“What? Where?” Pansy demanded intently.

Draco frowned in thought. “I can't be sure until it flashes, but I think it's here somewhere.” They all inspected that portion of the mirror carefully.

“How did I not know any of this?” Harry muttered the question. “It's _my_ house, after all.”

“Er...” Parvati began, looking at him curiously.

“Do you ever even bother to look at your reflection?” Pansy wondered, looking askance at him.

“I'm fairly sure he doesn't,” Draco answered on Harry's behalf.

Harry rolled his eyes and went back to his letter.

_By the looks of it, Daisy is going to be powerful like my family. I've been wondering if we should move to America so that she can grow up with people that can help her understand who she is. It caused a pretty big fight with Dudley actually because he wants to get a few years as an officer under his belt before we even attempt moving to America, and honestly, I don't think he wants to leave England._

“I thought you were getting ready for your date?” Luna stated when Pansy impatiently vanished her clothes and entered the tub.

“I decided that I won't look anywhere near my best unless I bathe first,” Pansy retorted.

“Aw Pans,” Hermione murmured with a grin. “You know I think you're gorgeous no matter what.”

Pansy looked offended. “So you're saying that I shouldn't even try to look good for our date because you like how I look? That is just not on! You'd better put an effort in too, or I'm going to make you very sorry!”

Hermione grinned at her. “Oh, I plan to put in an effort!”

“Good!” Pansy harrumphed.

Ron ushered the rest of the kids into the bathroom. “Any particular reason Andromeda and I were stuck watching most of the kids by ourselves? And now they're all muddy somehow.”

The kids had apparently stripped off in the backyard, and now eagerly jumped into the tub. Ron saw Hermione glare at the spots of mud all over the floor, and promptly started vanishing them.

“Don't worry! Andromeda's cleaning up the rest of the mess,” Ron assured her.

“Good!” Hermione stated. “Teddy, can you please not splash me? Teddy!”

_So when Dudley told me that you are his cousin and have a lot of kids – which actually I already knew because I read the Daily Prophet – I felt hope for Daisy. Speaking of the Prophet, when the article appeared for your children's second birthday, I showed it to Dudley, and he couldn't believe that you're so famous that you appear in the paper just for having a lot of kids. We spent all last night comparing notes about you, and... Well, now I hope I get a chance to meet you so I can ask how much of either of our stories is true. I was still in America during the war, so I'm not sure I know any facts._

“Daddy!” James and Albus cried out as they snuggled up to him. They made it sound like they hadn't seen him in weeks rather than about two hours. Meanwhile, Scorpius was trying to poke his head under the letter so that he could climb into Harry's lap.

Draco – who had managed to wash up at some point – took Scorpius so that Harry could finish his letter.

“Hi,” Harry greeted the boys, giving each of them and Draco a kiss. This of course made the others jealous and prompted them each to clamor for kisses too.

By this point, even Luna and Parvati had abandoned their hair and hopped into the tub. With every member of the family except for Andromeda in the tub, it was the exact opposite of quiet and relaxing. Harry laughed, tossing his letter aside to finish later. He then kissed and tickled all his kids, completely ignoring their mothers warnings by instigating and encouraging a splash fight.

“You're just lucky this is a magic tub!” Draco murmured in his ear after no less than three of the women glared at Harry. He was referring to the fact that the water that was splashed out of the tub magically reappeared in the tub so that the level didn't diminish. Also, the tub kept the water at the perfect temperature.

Harry kissed Draco again. When Ron splashed them while feigning disgust, Harry laughed, broke off the kiss, and then used a bit of his magic to send an epic wave at Ron. A down and dirty fight ensued after that. Well actually, since it was fought with soapy water, it was the opposite of down and dirty.

After a good ten minutes of chaos, Hermione made a motion like she was rolling up her sleeves – even though she was naked – and gritted her teeth in determination to win. Having the rare ability to summon her wand wandlessly, she promptly cast a rapid array of spells flinging balls of water at all comers until everyone surrendered. Her twins hugged her proudly.

“Mummy,” they purred in congratulations.

“Wow,” Pansy practically meowed in awe. “Remind me to never get on your bad side!”

Hermione smirked in triumph. “I just can't stand to be less than the best at anything.”

At this point, the bath seemed to be over, so Harry held up his hands. “Hey, I want to call a family meeting before we do anything else.”

“Are you going to talk about your cousin?” Padma asked pointedly, since Harry hadn't really said anything about it since he went for a walk with Dudley the other day.

“Actually yes,” Harry informed her. “So, as you all heard, I was raised by my Aunt and Uncle in a way that was rather abusive. I didn't think it was at the time, I just thought it was utterly sucky. When Dudley said that they forced me to cook and clean for them, I just thought I was doing _all_ the chores rather than splitting them like other kids. As you all know, I love to cook, and I have my Aunt to thank for teaching me.”

Harry took a steadying breath. “But yes, I was forced to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs until I was 11, and it was a tiny place. Then I was given a room of my own and locked in. They put bars on the windows and often asked me to pretend that I didn't exist. I had to bite my tongue and not say anything when insulted.

“My uncle's sister Marge came over once and insulted me quite a bit before moving on to insult my parents, and I accidentally inflated her like a parade balloon!” Harry gave them a wry smile at this since the memory was pretty funny. “I thought for sure that I was going to be expelled and maybe brought up on charges, so I ran away. I guess that I was lucky in that – at that time – it was more politically right for the Minister to side with me because he cleared me of everything and put me up in the Leaky for a few days.”

Harry sighed and then shook his head. “There's so much that I could say, but I don't really want to. Except for, well, one time, Dudley and I were in a park with some of his friends, and they were threatening to beat me up and I was threatening to hex them all even though it was illegal. Just when the situation was about to escalate, dementors showed up and tried to kiss Dudley. I saved him, and he's been less of a bastard to me ever since.”

Harry fell silent for a moment to organize his thoughts.

Hermione murmured softly. “That was when it wasn't so politically adventitious to side with you, and you nearly got expelled and brought up on charges of using magic in front of muggles and had to have a hearing in front of the entire Wizengamot. Even Dumbledore had a bit of trouble trying to convince them that it was self defense.”

“My aunt Amelia once told me about that,” Susan murmured sadly, missing her Aunt who had died in the war. She snuggled her daughter, who bore the same name as a way to honor the woman who had practically raised Susan from birth. “She was part of the Wizengamot that day, and couldn't believe how ready some of them were to convict a minor.”

Harry smiled at her. “Anyway, what I really wanted to say is that I think I forgave Dudley a long time ago. The last time I saw him before the other day, he really was concerned about me. They'd told him that the family had to go into hiding for their safety, and yet I wasn't going with them, and Dudley couldn't understand why. After all,  _ I _ was the one Voldemort was after.  _ I  _ was the reason they had to hide.

“And if I have forgiven him, then I see no reason to avoid him,” Harry finally got to the point. “He has a baby girl now, and she's a witch. Dudley has asked me to let them come over from time to time so that Daisy grows up knowing that it's okay to be a witch, and I think I want that.”

Draco slipped a hand into Harry's. “Are you  _ sure? _ Because I saw the way you acted when he first showed up. It was clear that you two had a long history of not getting along.”

Harry nodded. “I'm sure. I won't say that I think it'll be easy, but Dudley said something that has stuck with me. He said that we could have grown up as close as brothers, but we didn't because of the way his parents treated me and taught him to treat me. I honestly have to wonder if we have it in us to get along. After all, I occasionally manage to get along with  _ you _ don't I?”

Draco rolled his eyes and shook his head. “It's rare to be sure, but yes, there are moments when we manage to get along.”

“Usually when you're in bed having sex,” Luna supplied helpfully. Everyone chuckled at that.

“So, if you're sure you want to do this,” Hermione said, her voice full of support. “Then I think we should probably invite your cousin and his daughter and her mother over for dinner – say next weekend. That way, we can all be there for you if you need us, and actually, isn't the point for little Daisy to spend time with the kids? That seems like the easiest way.”

“I agree,” Ron replied with a short nod.

“Sounds like a plan,” Harry agreed with a smile.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Just so you know, I have the next part written and I think it's quite funny, lol! That said, I'm not sure where to go from there other than the fact that I do intend to jump forward in time a little again because this is Growing UP Potter, after all.


End file.
